True Life Mates
by collegemama
Summary: Eric finds love in an unexpected place. Sookie’s out of the picture, but could someone else bring him happiness? Set after DAG, AU
1. Chapter 1

True Lifemates

Eric finds love in an unexpected place. Sookie's out of the picture, but could someone else bring him happiness? If you want Sookie and Eric together, this story may not be for you. But if you're an Eric fan who wants him to find someone who'll appreciate him – you might be very happy with this story. Set after DAG. AU/OC Eric and OC…

Disclaimer: Charlaine Harris owns these characters (Eric, Pam and Sookie). I own Maria and her buddies…

EPOV

I'm not sure exactly when I realized that Sookie just wasn't the one for me. I tried, through the bond, to make it work but she was just too opposed to my lifestyle and the ways of the vampire to ever really be happy with me.

I, too, was growing tired of her childish responses to my desire to help her. When she said she did not want to go to my house for protection during the fairy war, I knew then that she could never understand me and I could never understand her. I wasn't trying to take away her autonomy; I only wanted to keep her safe. But her stubbornness and fear kept her from doing the right thing, which ended up nearly getting her killed.

She also had always had an eye for the other men in her life, which was not something that was pleasant to experience through the bond. I finally came to the painful conclusion that we would be better as friends, the same as Pam and I.

While we would remain bonded to a degree, time would lessen the bond and would act as a way to enhance the friendship. As long as the bonded and her/his vampire were friendly, the bond was easier to deal with. Things get ugly when the bonded begins to hate the vampire. Luckily, Sookie was mature enough to come to an agreement with me regarding our relationship, so while I missed her I knew we were doing the right thing.

I continued my daily work at Fangtasia, enthralling the vermin, as Pam so colorfully put it. But I knew that I was slowly growing more and more dissatisfied with life. I had been deeply disappointed by Sookie, and wondered if there would ever again be a human that I could relate to.

The other vampires were often just as immature and emotionally stunted as humans, only to a lesser degree. Still, not many were as old as me, and that fact was one that was repeatedly drilled into my head with every nonsensical thing the vampires in my bar would say.

Pam, of course, was the exception. She was wise for her young age, and had been wise even as a human. Without her companionship, I am not sure that I wouldn't have met the sun long ago.

Still, I grew restless. I had a hope deep in my heart, which I would never admit to anyone, that my lifemate was somewhere out there waiting for me. In my long life, I'd seen many ancient vampires acquire lifemates.

Legend has it that a vampire must be quite old for a lifemates to show up, the ancients have said that having a lifemate requires great maturity and skill at survival. Once the vampire and lifemate bond, the loss of either the lifemate or vampire would cause the destruction of the other. Hence the need for strong survival skills as this would keep the pair safe.

Now that I am 1,000 years old I hoped that a lifemate would come along my way soon. I had thought that person might be Sookie, but deep down I knew it wasn't. I had heard through the ancients that this person would be readily apparent; that a light appears to shine from within them that is only visible to the vampire to which they are fated. I did not see this light, but I had thought that perhaps it was only a metaphor, as she did look like a bright spot in such a dark place. Alas, I was wrong.

I had also neglected to remember the little fact that the lifemate often smells a bit like the vampire they are destined to be with. This was another evolutionary trait that kept the lifemate safe from other vampires. To the untrained nose, the smell was similar to the one that was given off when a human mated with a vampire and had shared blood.

So, I continue my days. Bored beyond the worst boredom. Waiting for the seemingly impossible.

MPOV

Maria was crazy…she had to be, she told herself, to be attempting to earn a PhD while raising two young children. But, if she could admit to herself that a part of her loved the pressure and excitement of living such a crazy lifestyle. She knew that if she got too bored, bad things would happen. The last time she got bored, she numbed out the feeling with drugs, she didn't want that to happen again. So, away she toiled, complaining at times, but secretly loving the odd lifestyle that was "Graduate School".

A few weeks ago, she and a few of her fellow students took the comprehensive exams that are required in order to move on in the program. These exams were the stuff of legend and many frightened graduate students huddled around the coffee shop tables telling tales of the horrible exams.

"Did you hear that Melanie failed the exams? She studied for months and then just went blank when she got the test in front of her!"

"Did you hear about Jane, she cried so hard during the test that she had to be removed and taken to the Psych ward!"

Of course, many of these stories were gross exaggerations, but they made them all feel better to know they weren't alone in feeling overwhelmed.

The day the Maria got the results of the exam were very exciting. She had passed with honors and was ready to celebrate.

"Let's go out!" one of the girls, Regina, said.

"I'll have to get a babysitter, but if we stay close to my house, I'll be able to stay out longer" Maria stated slyly. "Where will we go?"

"Hey, there's a new bar in my neighborhood. I think it's a vampire bar, but we can still go there, right?" Maria asked.

"I think so." Regina replied, "If vampires want equal rights, surely they treat humans with the same respect."

"One would think so…"Maria said, "if we're wrong and get a bad vibe, we can always go elsewhere."

Maria was truly over the moon. Not only did she pass comprehensive exams with honors, but now she gets to have a rare evening hanging out with the girls from the program. She decided to buy a new outfit to reward herself and to have something extra special to wear on her evening out.

Once she was home after shopping and picking up the kids from school. She began getting ready. Her mother was due to pick up the kids soon. Turns out her mother wanted to take the kids to her house, so the kids could swim so the group could have gone to another bar.

However, Maria was rather intrigued by the prospect of going to a vampire bar for the first time. There were a few vampires at her university, but she's never spent a lot of time with them. Prior to the Great Revelation she had been obsessed with vampire novels. She began with the great Anne Rice and slowly moved through a variety of vampire books.

Eventually she went straight for the smut and enjoyed the hell out of a good vampire romance novel. The cheesier the book, the better. She decided it was her way of coping with the stress of graduate school and allowed herself the little diversion.

"Mommy, why do you have to go out?" her little boy asked.

"Adam, Mommy sometimes needs to go out with her friends. I don't do it very often, and I'm celebrating doing well on my test" she replied.

"You won your test mama? Yay!!!" Maria laughed at her son's enthusiasm and odd way of phrasing things. He was so sweet and caring; she wasn't quite sure what she had done to deserve such great kids. Kerri, her daughter, was too young to speak, but she was equally loving and thoughtful.

She had a brief flash of guilt about leaving them to party with her friends, but pushed it aside. She rarely went out and had no social life. Her husband left during her first year of grad school, saying he couldn't handle the pressure. Truth was, he wanted to bring home the bacon and wanted her to stay home and fry it up.

_Ding dong _

"Gramma is here, kids" Maria said to the two little ones. 'And I'm going to finally have some fun with my girls', she thought to herself.


	2. Chapter 2

EPOV

I awoke with a start from my daytime rest. I had dreamt about a shadowy figure, with a light shining upon her. I couldn't make out the details, but knew instinctively that I'd dreamt of my lifemate.

Could it be that I was about to meet her?

I got up and got dressed in my usual dark jeans and black t-shirt. I added a large belt buckle and leather jacket to complete the Fangtasia "uniform" that I wore when enthralling the humans.

As I reached Fangtasia, I felt the usual happy buzz that I felt whenever I was near the club. This happy buzz was what led me to buy the property in the first place. I felt happy and at home here the minute I stepped onto the land.

I walked into the back door of the bar and made my way to the office. I dreaded the paperwork that awaited me, but knew it had to be done. As I was going through my stack, Pam walked in.

"Master, the club is ready to open. Any chance you'll come out and sit on your throne tonight?" she asked.

"Yes, Pam, even though I have mountains of paperwork to do, I'll be there. Of course, you could balance the books for me." She was actually the only one he trusted since the Longshadow incident, but he knew she'd balk at the busy work.

"Yeah, right boss. I'll do that as soon as monkeys fly out of my ass," she sassed.

"Ah Pam, you couldn't come up with a better come back than that? You must be slipping." I replied.

"Just don't forget, you're the major draw to this place. Without you, the vermin just aren't as happy."

I rolled my eyes at this. She knew as well as I did that any half-way attractive vampire would draw the regulars in. Any chance to covert with the mysterious vampires was enough to bring the fangbangers into the club. They didn't have the most discerning taste.

I got back to my work dreading the evening even more at the thought of having to entertain the numbskulls who frequented his club.

MPOV

She put on her fancy lingerie, knowing full well that no one would see it. Not that she would want anyone to see her naked now. After having the children her body just wasn't the same. She was still thin, but her stomach was a bit soft and wrinkly after having housed two babies. She also had a mean c-section scar that bugged the hell out of her. Regardless, somehow knowing she had pretty underthings on made her self-esteem rise a bit.

She put on her black shirt under her burgundy dress which came to her knees. She was not thrilled with the prospect of wearing a dress, but thought she should get out of her regular rut of pantsuits. She added black knee-high boots and some black and burgundy earrings to pull the outfit together. She was ready to have the time of her life.

Her friends arrived at 8 p.m. to pick her up in a limo. They knew they would be drinking heavily and no one wanted to be the designated driver, so they all offered to split a limo ride so they could all thoroughly enjoy the evening. This was also another way of patting themselves on the back for a job well done in school.

They arrived at the front doors of Fangtasia. Maria had to laugh at the name, kinda cheesy for a vampire bar. Maria decided the owner had to be pretty smart to choose such a non-threatening name for the place. It somehow made her feel a bit safer when entering.

The woman working the door was beautiful. Long blonde hair, black latex outfit, and a glare that could make the most self-assured person piss themselves.

"Hello ladies, what brings you to Fangtasia this evening?" she asked in a velvety smooth voice.

"We're here to celebrate passing our exams!" Regina replied.

"Oh… college students, how nice." She looked directly at Maria and appeared to sniff the air. Her eyes widened and she said, "Have we met? Surely I've met everyone who's been bonded to my master."

"What? I'm not bonded to anyone. You must be mistaken." Maria replied.

Her eyebrows raised, "Hmmm…well come on in girls. I'll let the owner know you are here to celebrate and we'll make sure you girls have a good time."

As soon as they entered, Maria got the feeling she knew why they had received the third degree at the door. They clearly did not fit in here. Everyone looked like they had just left a Cure concert – wearing black, multiple piercings, and white make up. She was honestly embarrassed for the people she saw. Why on earth would they dress in the Goth fashion when hanging out with the "true" Goths. She was sure that every vampire in the building was rolling their eyes at the regulars. These fangbangers (as she had heard them being referred to) probably had no idea what true darkness was and she was sure they would shy away as soon as the reality of death showed its face to them.

She could remember her teenage years and remembered dressing in a similar fashion. Then she experienced several tragedies in a row and quickly realized that death was nothing to romanticize. In a way she was glad that they were so naïve, because it meant that their lives had been untouched by such darkness.

As she was taking in her surroundings, the lovely woman from the door approached them.

"My master has reserved a special table for you. Please come this way."

'Wow', Maria thought, 'they sure treat their customers well. I'll have to recommend this place to everyone!'

EPOV

As I sat at my desk, shuffling through papers, I noticed that the happy buzzing feeling I had grew stronger and stronger. It had finally grown to a strong hum that vibrated in every cell of my body.

Pam rushed into my office with a look on her face I've never seen before. It was a combination pure excitement and disbelief.

"What has you so excited, my child?" I asked.

"Um…Eric, I do believe your lifemate is here"

"What?" I was shocked. "Did you just say my lifemate is here? "

"Well, unless you've bonded with a human recently and neglected to tell me about it, there's a girl out there that smells suspiciously like you. She and a group of 'sexy librarian' types are here to celebrate some academic achievement."

I fought the urge to tear out of the office and run to the bar to see for myself. A thousand years of life had taught me not to get my hopes up, though the humming feeling was telling me that there was something to this.

"Well, let's go check it out. Did you seat them at the special table?" I asked.

"Yes Master, I had a feeling that you'd want her to receive special attention. Because they are celebrating, I assumed it would be okay. If she's not the one, then there won't be any questions as to why they were given such special treatment."

"Excellent, Pam. You think of everything my child." I was very pleased. If she did turn out to be the one, I wanted to make sure I made a good first impression. My bar was a reflection of me and it would be the first impression this woman would have of me.

Suddenly I was overcome with dread and sat back down. What if she was a difficult human, like Sookie. I knew I couldn't take another relationship where my motives were constantly questioned and my vampire customs disregarded with contempt.

"Master, you know that a lifemate is supposed to be the one who is meant for you. So, if you are thinking that you don't want to get involved with another human, remember that she may not be anything like Sookie Stackhouse."

"Right" I said skeptically.

"The gods do not mess with lifemates, Eric. If she is the one, things will work out. Unless you have colossally bad karma you should feel quite comfortable with her. Isn't that what the legends say?"

"Yes, even total bastards can have lifemates actually. The lifemate usually compliments the personality of the vampire they are fated to. I guess I'm just 'gun shy' as the humans say."

"Understandable. Sookie was a massive pain in the ass. I think you've paid your dues, Eric. You are loyal, intelligent, wise, and a kick-ass warrior. Your fated will appreciate you as you are."

"Gee, thanks Pam. Has Dear Abby written an article about lifemates or something? 'Cause that's entirely too warm and squishy. Do we have to hug now?"

"Just go out there. You're stalling." She replied with glee in her eyes. She was truly a loyal child. It was a rare thing to have someone genuinely happy for you without the pangs of jealousy in the back of their minds. And she was observant, I was stalling. As long as I had waited for a lifemate, now that the time might be here I was reluctant. I knew my life could change forever once I walked through that door.

MPOV

Maria and the girls started with shots. "Beer before liquor, never sicker. Liquor before beer, you're in the clear" Regina shouted before they took their shots.

Maria laughed. What a silly group they were. PhD students who jump at the first chance to act silly and somewhat irresponsibly. Alcohol and graduate school have always gone together. Especially in their field, psychology. Some of them have seen and heard some heavy shit either through their research or through their clinical work in the community. Many of her friends specialized in trauma specifically, so there was a great need to let loose and forget their troubles and the troubles of their clients.

Maria was no exception, while she didn't specialize in trauma research; she was in a rotation at the children's hospital and had heard some pretty sad stories there. She was in the mood to forget the broken hearts of her clients for the night and enjoy herself.

As she was looking around the table, admiring her friends and thinking about how lucky she was she noticed a very tall, blonde man walking from what looked like a back room to the front of the club. He was mesmerizing and absolutely beautiful. The minute he walked into the room she felt a strong and happy buzzing feeling. That was the best way she could describe it. She shook her head, 'the shot must really be taking effect' she thought to herself.

She noticed that almost every woman in the room held his attention and she immediately flushed with embarrassment. She always hated guys like that and resented any attraction she felt towards such charismatic men. They usually were unfaithful, unavailable assholes. She turned her attention back to the girls and caught them gossiping about the faculty at school. Those girls, they can never stop talking shop!

"Did you hear that Mr. Ellison is dating some chick from the History department?" Regina asked.

"No way, is she a grad student?" Shelly, another friend and fellow comps survivor, asks.

"Nah, she's a prof. But she is 15 years younger than he is." Regina said this with a look on her face that revealed that she really didn't approve.

"Now ladies, we all know it takes men years to catch up to us in maturity, if it ever happens at all." Maria's previous difficulty with men was showing itself in spades tonight. She wondered if she'd ever find someone to prove her wrong about her theory. She looked up again and spotted the blonde god. He seemed to be staring at her, but she was sure he must have been looking at someone behind her or something. 'Hmm, of course a vampire could be several hundred years older than me. Surely all of that time spent on this Earth affords some wisdom.' She giggled to herself at the thought that a vampire was the answer to all her troubles.

**So what do you all think??? Review and let me know!**


	3. Chapter 3

EPOV

As I walked out of the office I felt the buzzing intensify. 'Hmmm, interesting' I thought. I walked out and as soon as I did I saw her. She emanated a light that shone all around her.

"Do you see that light, Pam?" I asked.

"No master, is it on the one with short hair and the burgundy dress?"

"Yes."

"That is the one that smells like you. Looks like you found your lifemate."

I didn't know what to say. I was truly surprised which was quite an accomplishment for someone who's 1,000-years-old. I needed time to think, so I sat at my throne. I noticed that she'd caught sight of me but when she looked around at all the fangbangers drooling over me, she blushed a lovely shade of red and quickly looked away. Surely she wasn't comparing herself to the throngs of idiots.

I listened in on her group's conversation. It appeared she was in an academic environment as the girls were gossiping about some professor they all knew. My lifemate had made some comment about men being immature and then looked directly at me again with a curious look on her face.

'Yes, my sweet. I am old and quite mature compared to the mere mortals you have been associating with.' I thought with a snicker. She blushed again and I could tell she was giggling to herself about something. She was adorable. I chuckled to myself, 'Man, I'm already getting soft and I haven't even talked to her yet. Adorable? Snap out of it, Northman!' As my internal dialog was busy berating me, I continued to listen.

"You know guys, the oral comps are coming up soon. Maybe we should schedule study groups while we're all together like this" my sweet said. Damn, I already had a pet name for her. I knew the connection with a lifemate was strong, but I had no idea I'd turn into a sentimental fool.

As I was shaking my head, trying to get the warm-fuzzies out I noticed that the woman's friends were currently pelting her with wadded up napkins.

"Damn Maria! You're ruining my mood here. I don't wanna think about orals right now" a willowy blonde said. Hmm…her name is Maria. Seems fitting that she's named after the virgin of the Christian fairy tales; she looks like an angel of some sort.

"Yeah girl, don't you ever stop thinking about work?" asked a chunky woman sitting next to her. I felt like defending her. There's nothing wrong with a strong work ethic! I restrain myself to avoid looking like a moron.

"I don't know, I think Maria's right you guys. We're all so busy we never get a chance to be together like this. It wouldn't hurt to schedule a meeting, would it?" another girl said. Soon after she was pelted with napkins as well and they all laughed.

At that point, Maria looked up at me again. This time the buzzing became so intense I wouldn't have been surprised if I wasn't vibrating slightly. I smiled at her and called to my child through our bond.

Pam arrived and I asked her to have the DJ put on a slow song, "You Send Me" by Sam Cooke. I planned to make my acquaintance with my lifemate and make it a moment she wouldn't soon forget.

MPOV

Maria found that it was freaky to look at the beautiful blonde. She got the strangest sensation when their eyes met. This time she was sure he was looking at her and not someone behind her. 'Perhaps I am novel to him and that is where the fascination lies' She thought.

Her mind was reeling, trying to make sense of why this vampire would seek her out of a room full of people. Surely they don't get women who look like they spend the majority of their time in a library here everyday. The impression she got, that the regulars of this place were pretty naïve and ridiculous, was most likely shared with the vampires who frequent this establishment. She convinced herself that this was the case as he was walking towards her with a devilish grin on his face.

Her breath hitched in her throat as he approached the table. The buzzing so loud now she could barely hear the music anymore.

His voice rang out over the sound, 'Hello ladies, welcome to Fangtasia. I hear you are celebrating something tonight?' the man said in the sexiest voice she had ever heard. Maria's panties were wet just from the sound of his voice.

What was more embarrassing was that he appeared to sniff the air and then looked directly at Maria and winked at her. 'No way,' she thought, 'he didn't just smell my arousal, did he?' She blushed and wished to hell that she wasn't in the middle of her sexual peak and apparently embarrassing herself in front of vampires. She figured she was a dime a dozen to someone who was immortal, and the fact that he was turning her on was kinda pissing her off.

'Because you chose our bar for your celebration, I would like to offer all of your drinks on the house tonight' the man said to the group, though he was looking right at Maria the whole time he was talking.

'Thanks, that's very kind of you.' she said, still blushing furiously.

"I'm Eric Northman, owner of this bar and Sheriff of Area 5." He said, looking at Maria. "And you are?"

"I'm Maria Rogers" she said. She noticed he didn't pay a whole lot of attention as her friends introduced themselves as well.

"Would you care to dance, Maria?" he asked as one of her favorite songs came on.

Well, it was a sign she figured, who would have thought that a vampire bar would play Sam Cooke. So she decided to go for it. "Sure, I'd be honored." The man was hot as hell, after all, and had probably seen a whole heck of a lot in what she assumed was a long life. Who wouldn't be honored to dance with him?

EPOV

The fact that she said she'd be honored gave me a shot of hope that she might not do so badly in the vampire world after all. Sookie was polite, but she never understood the importance of hierarchy and authority.

But was this a condition of the modern woman, or would some women still be able to navigate the complicated world of vampire politics? From what I saw of the humans who usually took up with vampires, they were too stupid to even notice the complex dance of deceit and obedience to which most vampires were bound.

I remembered other older vampires who had found their lifemates and for the most part the partners were well-suited to the world of vampires. It was as if their temperament was such that they fit in quite nicely. This coupled with the rarity of finding a lifemate made such pairings the stuff of legends. Most vampires respected such an important bonding and accepted the lifemate as one of their own, even before the human mate was turned.

All of these thoughts flew through my mind as I walked Maria to the middle of the dance floor. As soon as our bodies met the buzzing sensation reduced to a more manageable level. Yet again, this was another sign that she was my lifemate. It was as if the gods were trying to make sure we connected by throwing the proverbial anvils at our heads to make sure we didn't miss each other. And now that we had, the urgency had left.

As we danced we looked into each others eyes. She began to giggle and then placed her head onto my chest. "You make me feel giddy. Do all vampires have this effect on humans?" she asked.

"No, my sweet. I do believe we may have a _special_ connection." I replied, emphasizing the word 'special'. I knew I couldn't mention that we were lifemates quite yet. It was too soon and I didn't want to scare her away.

We danced silently as the song played on. I wanted to talk to her, but I also didn't want to ruin the moment of meeting my lifemate for the first time. I assumed only I knew of the significance of this dance, this meeting. I took a deep breath as an old habit and took in her intoxicating scent.

As the song ended, I knew I had to somehow encourage her to spend more time with me. My experience with Sookie taught me that modern women did not like to be ordered around, so I was wracking my brain for a way to get some time alone with her.

"Perhaps we could visit in a bit more privacy back in my office" I offered. I figured that no earth-shattering revelations were coming to me so I'd better get a move on. I hoped that I didn't sound like some sort of pervert. With the fangbangers, they would move heaven and earth to be alone in my office. With my unfortunate experience with Sookie and the condition of the modern woman, I was at a loss. I figured at this point the only thing I had going for me was my natural personality. Domineering and arrogant. Check.

"Ummm…okay, let me just tell my friends, so they don't worry about me. We kinda have a buddy system going to keep each of us safe" she said.

"Excellent." I said. Glad that she was sensible enough to take good care of herself.

As she walked over to her table, I followed a few paces behind.

"Hey guys," she said.

"Ohh, it's the lucky lady who scored a dance with the most handsome man in the room! Way to go, girl!" one of the ladies said.

"Umm…he'd like to go back to his office so we can talk in a more appropriate setting." She replied, and I could tell she was a bit embarrassed by her friends' ribbing.

Pam, having the impeccable timing that she has chose this moment to give me a hard time. She stood next to me and raised her eyebrow.

"What?" I asked.

"She's pretty, in a tiny sort of way. You know who she reminds me of?"

"Tinkerbell" we both said at the same time.

"Poor Tinkerbell," I said, "if she'd only not been so insistent that the whole world believed she was real, she wouldn't have got the iron axe."

"Yes, such a waste of a perfectly good fairy. Someone could have let one of us know so that all that yummy blood wasn't wasted." Pam replied.

"Hmmm" we both contemplated that for a minute. She really was a nice fairy, unlike some, and I was sure she would have tasted sweet.

Maria did bare a strong resemblance. Thank god she wasn't fae though. I've had enough of that drama to last me for a while.

At that, Maria returned to me. All smiles and slightly wobbly. Totally adorable. 'God, I'm screwed,' I thought.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks to everyone who favorited me! I'm really touched and so glad that you guys are enjoying my first story!**

MPOV

As she warbled over to Eric she began to question her motives. What the hell was she doing going to a perfect stranger's office? Surely she'd heard enough horrible stories through her work in psychology that she knew better than to trust a stranger, especially to go to a "second location" with said stranger.

But, god was he gorgeous. And she had a very strong gut feeling that he'd do her no harm. The other vampires in the place did not give her that impression at all. Surely this meant something.

"Hello, sweet one. Come with me." Eric said. She followed like a little, lost puppy. As they walked across the dance floor towards the offices in the back she noticed she was getting death stares from the many women in the room that had earlier been oogling Eric.

'Ha, ha, suckers!' she thought. 'Hmm, when did I become 5-years-old again?' she thought. Probably the last shot she took wasn't doing her any favors. 'God, I hope I don't make a total ass of myself.' She thought. Speaking of asses, she looked down at the magnificent ass walking ahead of her. She wiped her chin to remove the drool that had surely manifested itself there.

Finally, after what seemed like hours they arrived at his office.

"Come in," Eric said, "make yourself at home. Are you hungry, do you need another drink?"

"Well, maybe a water would be a good idea" Maria replied. She knew from class she could avoid the disastrous effects of alcohol by drinking copious amounts of water.

Dr. Angelo had loved to tell tales of his crazy undergraduate years and the many methods he used to be able to party and maintain a good GPA at the same time. He was probably the most bizarre professor she'd ever had. He was entertaining, if not masochistic. He also delighted in discovering grad students' phobias and then exposing them to said fear in front of the whole class.

Maria's fear happened to be ladybugs. Yes, ladybugs don't bite, they are harmless, but something about them creeped Maria the hell out. Once Dr. Angelo found this out, he immediately found the most disgusting and graphic images of ladybugs to be found and displayed them in the middle of Psychopathology class' Phobia section.

Of course she couldn't help herself but give Dr. Angelo the reaction he wanted. She squealed and squirmed in her seat, while Dr. Angelo was overjoyed with the sight. He definitely lacked tact when he began talking about how simple the cure for phobias was, making Maria feel slightly foolish for having never exposed herself to ladybugs in order to reduce the fear. But she figured she doesn't need to be in close contact with them, so there was no need to expose herself to such discomfort. Dr. Angelo could fuck himself for all she cared.

"Are you still there, little one?" Eric asked.

She must have spaced out, thinking about the ladybugs. She shivered, "Yeah, I'm here, just lost in thought." Not wanting to even begin to tell him where her thoughts had led her.

He cocked an eyebrow at her, obviously wanting to know what she was thinking about. 'Not going to happen, buddy!' she thought. She felt she was neurotic enough with the shit she was open with people about, no one needed to be privy to the innermost fucked up thoughts that resided in her little brain. Besides, he looked like a big, bad vampire and a fear of ladybugs was not something she felt he could empathize with. In fact, she was quite sure it would be a source of great amusement to him.

"So, I believe we are lifemates." He stated quite simply.

"Whaaa?" she replied, eloquently.

"Yes, you smell like me, a light emanates from you that only I can see, and I feel a very strong buzzing sensation when I'm around you. Do you live nearby because I've been feeling this for a while now, but it only got stronger this evening when you came to the club." He said.

"Well, yes, I live near here. What the hell is a lifemate? Is that what I think it is?" She asked.

"I'm not sure what you think it is." He chuckled, " It's sort of like soul mates, though I don't believe past lives or that nonsense is involved." He said.

'Okay, great. Either the alcohol is getting to me of this dude is totally out of his mind.' She thought.

"Hmm…well…uhhh…gee, what time is it? Oohh, almost midnight. I'm about to turn into a pumpkin, or my coach is, or something. I'd better get home." She said nervously. "I'll just check to make sure my friends are still here to give me a ride home."

She bolted out of the room in search of her friends. Shit, they left. Traitors.

She walked up to the bartender. He was definitely a vampire, she could tell. Perfect! "Hey, buddy." She said. The bartender lifted an eyebrow at her, surprised at her casual display. "Do vampires ever get psychological disorders? Maybe Delusional Disorder?" she asked.

"No, I don't think so. Some go mad after living a long time, but they usually meet the sun, not go crazy." He replied.

She flinched at the word crazy. She'd been trained to avoid that word like the plague.

"I'm not delusional, my sweet." She jumped at the sexy voice behind her. Stupid, sexy, and possibly delusional voice!

'It's totally unethical to have a sexual relationship with someone who's not in their right mind, Maria' she was chastising herself. 'No way could this guy give informed consent to a sexual relationship.' She thought. 'God, when did I become such a massive nerd?' she wondered. 'But he's hot, and smells oh so yummy' her libido replied. Stupid, randy libido!

"Do you have a phone book I could borrow?" she asked the bartender. Deciding to ignore the beautiful, albeit psychotic, vampire.

"What are you doing?" the vampire asked.

"I'm getting a cab because my so-called friends have abandoned me." She stated, deciding totally ignoring him was rude.

"No need. I shall drive you home." He was so confident she almost nodded her head in agreement without thought.

Shaking her head, she tried to get a grip. "I wouldn't want to inconvenience you. Surely as the owner here, you have better things to do than drive a customer home. I'll just walk." She said.

"I'll walk with you." He said, seemingly even more determined than before.

Shit, she felt stuck. It would be very foolish to walk home by herself, especially in her state. A walk home would take longer, but a car ride would mean she'd be enclosed in a tight space. Alone, with his scent, his hair and his drool-worthy ass. At least outdoors she'd have some fresh air to help her keep her libido in check.

Clearly it had been too long since Maria felt the pangs of lust. She didn't quite know what to do with herself. She knew he was a nutjob, what with the lifemate crap, or perhaps he was a Casanova type and was just laying on some line in order to get laid.

No, she saw his face as he said it and he had seemed completely convinced. He was either delusional or he was telling the truth. What was it one of her professors said? "Keep you mind open, but not so open your brains fall out". That was it. Perhaps she should heed the advice.

"Okay, you can walk me home." She said, with reluctance. 'Here goes nothing!' she thought.

EPOV

I was both amused and alarmed at her conclusion that I was delusional. I followed her as she fled from my office. She was in such a hurry, I don't think she noticed.

As she walked up to the booth that once housed her friends, I could see her shoulders slump. Ah ha, I have my in. She has no way home, so of course I should see to it that she gets home in one piece.

I nearly laughed as she asked the bartender if vampires ever became afflicted with mental illness. She was really quite funny, but honestly, I was worried that I'd blown my chance by being so honest.

Once she finally agreed to let me walk her home, I knew I had my chance to set things straight.

We walked out of the club and headed toward the neighborhood behind the bar. At first we were silent, but I could tell the wheels in her mind were turning.

"You know, I'm having trouble swallowing the whole 'Lifemate' thing." She said. "I'm a woman of science, I don't believe in fate, or spirituality or any of that stuff."

"A woman of science, huh?" I asked.

"Yeah, I used to be interested in religions and all that, but I quickly realized it was simply a way to pacify the masses." She stated.

I was surprised she held such contempt for religion. Most people in this part of the country believed in a Christian god and did not question such things.

"Have you ever wondered if science wasn't just another form of religion?" I asked.

"Yes, I have actually. That thought makes me quite nervous actually. Obviously science can't answer all our questions yet. The evidence I've gathered thus far shows me that religion is just a way for the state to control people. Science at least is open to changes in major theories, unlike religion."

"What about the saints and stories of divine intervention?" he asked.

"I believe that most of the saints were either victims of moldy bread or epileptic seizures in the right temporal lobe." She said. "Did you know that electrical activity in that area results in spiritual experiences?" she asked.

I was impressed with her ability to philosophize whilst under the influence. "Yes, I believe I've read that somewhere. But what do saints and religion have to do with our status as lifemates?" I asked.

"Well, lifemates relates to soulmates, right?" she asked.

"Yes," I said, "so you believe that the fact that we're fated is some kind of delusion on my part because there is no such thing as fate or soulmates?" I asked.

"Precisely!" she exclaimed, seemingly relieved that I understood.

"Maybe you're wrong about fate. You said science is amenable to changes in theory, as long as the evidence supports such claims."

"Yes, that's true." She said, furrowing her cute little brow.

"Perhaps you should keep your mind open." I said.

"But not so open my brain falls out." She replied.

"Yes," I chucked, "that would probably be wise. I quite like your head the way it is." I said.

She laughed and my heart melted. Surely there isn't a better sound in this world than the sound of her laughter.

By that time we had arrived at her house. "Goodbye my sweet. Thank you for a lovely dance and your wonderful company."

"Thank you." She said.

I took note of her address, kissed her chastely on the cheek, and made my way back to the club.

I wasn't about to push her beyond her limit. I had learned from Sookie that exerting my will simply wasn't enough to get my way with the modern human woman. I knew I should leave her wanting more.

The rest of the night was spent in securing the affections of my lifemate. Nothing was too good for her. I only hoped she could take my gifts in the spirit in which they were given and didn't have any ridiculous notions about being a "kept woman" as Sookie was always so concerned with.


	5. Chapter 5

MPOV

The next morning Maria woke up feeling only slightly hung over. The minute Eric left she felt the buzzing sensation go from a happy buzz to an unsatisfied haranguing. If there was something to this "lifemate" thing then surely the fates were pissed at her for blowing them off.

'It's all in my imagination. I'm lonely, overworked and desperate for a partner to make this life more pleasant.' She thought to herself.

Her children came back home, after spending the night at grandma's house, and once again the house was filled with noise.

She relished the quiet, but always welcomed the chaos when it returned.

"Mama, help me google 'velociraptor' please" her son asked.

"Sure honey, V-E-L-O-C-I-R-A-P-T-O-R" she always made sure to spell such things out loud, so he might somehow encode it in his little brain at some point. Hey, there's a reason they say that psychologists kids are the most messed up.

"Thanks, Mama!" he replied and she was relieved that he'd be entertained by the websites extolling the virtues of velociraptors, at least for a little while.

She opened her book bag and began the daunting task that was studying for courses. This week wouldn't be too bad, only 14 chapters for one class and 3 chapters for the other. Totally doable this weekend.

Unfortunately, she was having trouble concentrating after the night at the vampire bar. 'Boy,' she thought, 'I must have been messed up to have fallen for that fated line. I bet he found another human to entertain him since I didn't fall hook, line and sinker for that lifemate crap.'

_Ding dong_

She wasn't expecting company so she jumped about 10 feet at the sound of the doorbell.

Maria walked to the front door and opened it. What was awaiting her was a massive bouquet of roses. There must have been 3 dozen in the beautiful vase that was being held by an acne-ridden delivery boy.

"Oh…I don't have cash for a tip!" Maria stated with worry.

"No problem, Miss. Mr. Northman took care of that. Enjoy!" and with that the boy walked away.

I opened the card that came with the flowers and read with amazement.

_I had an amazing time with you last night, Maria. I hope to see you soon._

_E_

After that, every hour on the hour she received a new delivery of flowers. Some were roses, some were daisies, irises, or lilies. She'd never seen so many flowers outside a funeral home. Each one was signed by Eric with his own little notes.

_These flowers remind me of you. A bright color in the midst of a dark world._

_E_

This was written with the bouquet of daisies. Accompanying another fragrant assortment was this note:

_When you smell these, think of me and all the ways I could pleasure you._

_E_

Well, that was a bit forward. 'Good thing I'm not a prude. Very bad thing that I have an overactive imagination. Fucker, now I have to change my undies.' She thought gruffly.

'Fucking hot, delusional vampire! Why does he have to be so enticing? This is clearly wrong! You know better than to go along with an ill person's delusions, Maria!'

If she were being honest with herself though, with every delivery of flowers her determination that he was to be ignored was chipped away. Part of her had to acknowledge that some of her hesitation with getting involved with him was the throng of beautiful women who worshiped him that night. She was sure this was a regular occurrence.

Of course, she was sure that most of those women had IQ scores in the double digits. Not that she was an intellectual snob, she was just becoming more and more aware of the rarity of intelligence. She had many friends who hadn't chosen the path of higher education and they were as smart as she was, and of course there was a difference between street smarts and book smarts. She had met many a graduate student that was brilliant in the classroom but completely lost when dealing with others.

She felt lucky that she was wise for her age and was sure that this was why she was drawn to those who had lived a real and sometimes rough life, regardless of their education level. They were always a great support and had infinite patience while she whined about the stresses of home and school. They didn't judge her and her fucked up mental processes.

Maybe it was the messed up way she had of viewing the world that made her attractive to Eric. She knew that living as long as most vampires do that Eric must have thought that it was a relief to spend time with someone with an intelligence level that came a little closer to matching his. She knew his favorite hang outs couldn't be in the universities, so surely women who were thirsty for knowledge was novel to him.

Was it the uniqueness of her intelligence or was there something more? She couldn't deny that she felt a primal attraction to him, whether that was appropriate or not. Of course, he was freaking beautiful, who wouldn't be attracted to him?

What was more interesting to her was his attraction to her. What if he wasn't delusional? What if what he said was true and they were lifemates? What is a lifemate anyway?

"I should research that!" she said aloud.

"What mama?" her son asked.

"Nothing honey, just the random mental ramblings of an old person. No need to concern yourself." She replied.

"Okay mama!" her son replied.

'One day he'll get my jokes,' she assured herself.

'Okay, lifemates' she steeled her nerves for the act of researching such a phenomenon. This was tricky because vampires had refused to take part in scientific experiments. This was not surprising to Maria as the history of psychology wasn't the most kind to those who were outside the norm.

She shuddered as she thought about the early experiments in psychology. 'Poor Little Albert.' She thought. 'A perfectly adjusted little boy, only to become terrified of any furry, white creatures for the sake of science and in the name of gaining evidence for Behaviorism,' she shook her head in disgust. She wondered what ever became of the poor boy. Did he spend the rest of his life afraid of white, furry animals?

'I'm totally stalling' she concluded. She decided Googling "vampires" and "Lifemates" was her best bet. There wouldn't be any actual scientific journals that could give her answers to this question.

She ran to her laptop, so as not to disturb the beauty that was learning about Velociraptors from her son.

As soon as she clicked on the first link she was sure she'd joined the lala land of the religious and misinformed. 'Not that I'm judgmental or anything!' she thought. 'Okay…keep your mind open but not so open your brains fall out.' This was her new mantra. The website spoke of ancient religions and their belief in past lives, soul mates and gods and goddesses who manipulated the lives of their lowly servants.

But as she looked further she found some sites that might be of some use. One from a university in the northwest discussed the old legends and myths of vampires and mentioned lifemates and their rarity.

Another site mentioned the signs and symptoms of a lifemate.

_Do you have an unusual buzzing feeling? Do you feel an almost unnatural attraction to a vampire? If so, you might be a lifemate!_

'Oy,' she thought, 'that's hokey as hell, but damn if I didn't feel that buzzing they are talking about.' She continued her search.

_Signs that your human might be a lifemate:_

_She/he glows_

_She/he smells like you_

_She/he holds a strong attraction to you_

_A sensation of buzzing is present when they are near and a deep feeling of loss is present when they are not within a 2 mile radius._

'Well, hell. As ridiculous as it seems that sure sounds like us.' She thought.

She wondered why she was so opposed to this idea. Perhaps she was afraid of the lifelong commitment. Nah…she was never afraid to commit. In fact, she'd stay in quite uncomfortable positions in order to keep the status quo. Commitment was definitely not an issue.

One problem was to admit that perhaps she was wrong to throw out the possibility that there are spiritual things at work that we don't understand. Another problem was admitting that perhaps she was afraid of changing her life only to be made a fool by a womanizing vampire. Bingo! As soon as she thought it, she knew that was a major resignation.

He was gorgeous, could have any woman in the world, and was potentially only interested in her because he'd not been around intelligent women who could think for themselves lately. She was definitely afraid of being intimate with another male. Her ex-husband had burned her badly.

Could he really be interested in her, with honorable intentions? Someone _that_ handsome had surely had years and years of experience. 'What could I possibly bring to the relationship?' she asked herself in agony.

She thought of all of her imperfections. She was the mother of two children, via c/section. As a result, she had a big ole' scar above her pubic bone.

Not to mention her breasts. She was already a member of the 'itty bitty titty committee' prior to nursing two kids. After that she was a member of the "flat as a pancake, yet possessing oddly shaped nipples committee'. Seriously, she still felt herself 'Moo' whenever she saw her breasts and the teat-like quality of her nipples.

'You fool!' she thought. If she were Eric's lifemate surely he would see beyond such surface issues. Not only that, but she was sure he had to have had experience sleeping with women who had had children. Unless he favored virgins, he had to have slept with women who had the curse of the nursing mothers' breasts. Something told her he wasn't necessarily attracted to virgin-types.

But how would he take to the children? 'Surely if we're lifemates things will work out, right?' she tried to convince herself. Something told her that vampires don't regularly hang out with young children.

Her mind raced the rest of the day. After a few games with the kiddos, reading for class, and a bit more research the day had finally passed.

When she had the chance to continue her search online, she learned a lot about lifemates. She learned that most lifemates were respected by the vampire community and that many couples ended up the King and Queen of their area. This was due to the complimentary nature of the mates, which when combined made for a fair and judicious couple. Perfect for ruling the other vampires of the area.

She wasn't sure about being turned and becoming the Queen of Louisiana. She was pretty happy in with her current pursuit of a psychology degree. In fact, the idea of throwing away the last 3 years of misery only to rule a bunch of vamps pissed her off.

Of course, it wasn't really misery. She loved it, which was part of the problem. Would Eric be supportive of her career? If he were any older than 50 years old, he'd probably have some pretty strong perceptions about women and their place in a relationship.

Was he acclimated enough to the modern world to accommodate her needs to pursue higher education? Why was she pursing a higher education anyway? If she were honest with herself she knew the motives were purely selfish. She loved to learn, and she liked knowing that she was able to keep up with the smart kids who took classes with her, at least most of the time she could keep up. She wasn't an Einstein that's for sure. She constantly doubted her ability to get through the program without looking like a fool.

While she was good at working with clients, that wasn't where the true joy in her day lied. She was only truly happy when she was learning something new in a classroom. She'd always felt that classes at university were like watching some documentary live.

_Today in Child Development we explore the world of the zygote and cell division!_

Nothing brought her greater joy or greater anxiety. It was the sweet elixir of life for her.

_Ding dong._

'What now,' she thought. 'Surely all the flowers in town have already been sent to me.'

She opened the door and this time it was a UPS man in his brown uniform. He handed her a small package and headed back to his truck.

She opened the package and found the most beautiful emerald bracelet she'd ever seen. With it came yet another note.

_Dearest one,_

_I saw that you wore an emerald ring last night and thought this would compliment it nicely. Just as you compliment me._

_E_

'Wow,' she thought, 'this guy's serious.' She noticed that the sun had just set and decided that after putting the kids to bed that she should call the poor man, uh, vampire. She'd never been wooed so intensely by someone, living or not.

But first she decided to clean the house, which meant she had to put her Ipod on in order to make the chore not such a burden. She loved to sing along with the songs she played as she cleaned.

'_There was a lady, and a lady gay._

_For children she had three_

_She sent them away _

_To the north country_

She was fond of this song, but it was so sad. She often barely got through it without crying.

_Green grass is over our heads mother_

_Cold clay is over our feet_

_And every tear you shed for us _

_It wets our winding sheets_

By the time she'd finished doing dishes and singing along to this particular song, she was in tears. She always felt that grief was one of the most difficult emotions to handle. This song struck a chord with her, though she'd lost no children of her own. She knew the strong desire for one who has passed to come back. She also knew the cruel truth that once death has taken one from you, you must move on, as perhaps they must as well.

_Ding dong_

'Oh, not again' she thought. She looked through the peep hole and saw that it was the man himself; looking back at her through the little hole with arrogance that only an old vampire could possess.

"Okay, you're good enough, smart enough and gosh-darn it people like you!" she muttered under her breath. 'Okay Stewart Smalley, open the damn door!' she thought to herself, sniffling a bit, still trying to get a hold of her emotions after listening to the Joan Baez song.

EPOV

I awoke about an hour before sunrise. This was due to my status as a very old vampire. I still couldn't walk about outside because the sun would burn me, but I was able to walk about my house until the sun set.

I had planned a wonderful day for Maria, even without my presence. I wanted to make sure I stayed at the forefront of her mind all day and had arranged for various flowers and one special gift to be sent throughout the day. I could only hope that she would not have a Sookie-sized freak out at being the recipient of so many gifts.

Rather than wait around to see what would happen, I was inexplicitly drawn to her house. The minute the sun went down I headed to her house.

I heard her singing along to some song. After listening to a bit I recognized the song, though I hadn't heard it in 50 years.

"Green grass is over our heads mother…"

Oh yes, I remember this song. Leave it to Maria to listen to music that most people in this day and age couldn't begin to understand. Grief was lost to the modern age what with the miracle of modern medicine.

After ringing the doorbell I heard her mutter something about being good enough. I had to restrain myself from laughing out loud. God, she was cute.

She opened the door and her adorableness was increased ten-fold. She was wearing black cargo pants and a blue shirt with some sort of penguin on the front. I could tell she'd spent the day in some unusual pursuits because she was slightly disheveled and her eyes were red and teary.

"Hi Eric, what a surprise. Please come in!" she said, wiping her eyes.

"Thank you for the flowers and the beautiful bracelet," she said.

"You're welcome, only the best for you, my sweet." I said. I tried to use my sexiest voice when replying. "Are you okay, you look upset."

"Oh I'm fine. Just listening to sad music is all. One of my sick little habits. But seriously, thank you for the kind gifts. They must have cost you a fortune, especially the emeralds." She said.

I was curious as to why the song she was listening to elicited such a strong reaction, but decided to let it go for now. "Ah…it was nothing." I waved her off. "Why aren't you wearing the bracelet? Did you not like it?" I asked. I had to admit I was a bit hurt that she wasn't wearing it.

"Oh, well I love it. So much so that I think it would be best to admire it from its box. You see I have a tendency to lose expensive jewelry and I couldn't live with myself if I lost your bracelet." She explained.

"I've amassed a large fortune in my 1,000 years. If you lost it, I would simply buy you a new one. And it's your bracelet, not mine." I replied. I didn't want her to think I'd bankrupted myself in today's pursuits. She should know that I am very careful when it comes to money.

I saw a flash of some sort of recognition cross her face. Then what she said next had me floored, "Okay, I'll put it on then."

What, no arguments? No yelling or screaming?

Only there was screaming, coming from the other room. I heard a miniature voice yelling, clearly saying 'No! Tell the monsters to go away, Mama!' followed by a horrendous wail.

Maria's eyes rolled as she said, "Crap! Kids always have the best timing, huh? I'll be right back!" and with that she ran down the hall toward the enormous commotion.


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry it took so long to send. I'm in the middle of graduate school hell (don't even ask, it's been a nightmare and while I've worked myself into a frenzy it's still not enough. Welcome to the world of Clinical Psych people!) **

**Here it is people, the great 'crap she has kids' reveal! Thanks to everyone who is reading and reviewing. You all make my day!**

MPOV

As she ran down the hall toward her son's room she wondered if she'd mentioned having children to Eric. She wasn't exactly experienced with dating after having kids, so she was sure she'd probably have to tread very carefully here.

What if he hated kids? How many vampires like kids anyway, other than for a snack. 'Yesh, that's a nasty thought. I wonder why I didn't think of this before?' she thought.

Well, if he wanted to eat her kids, then the whole deal was off, that's for sure.

She got to Adam's room, where he had awoken from a nightmare. "Shh…it's okay." She said.

"Mama, I had a bad dream! The Boogie Man was trying to get you!" Adam said.

"It's okay, sweetie. What do we know about the Boogie Man?" she replied.

"He's not really real." He said.

"That's right, honey. He's not real and as real as our dreams seem sometimes, they are real either." She said.

"Can you sing me a lullaby, Mama?" he asked.

"Sure sweetie." And she sung a little song that her dad had made up when she was a little girl.

As she was singing to Adam, she thought about the mountain of work that awaited her for the next week. All those chapters to read. Not to mention the hours in the hospital…

'Shit!' she thought to herself. 'Why the hell do I do this to myself?' But she knew why she did it really. She loved it, even though it was a major pain in her ass.

She thought about Eric. How would he feel about her crazy lifestyle? Would he accept her kids, would he accept her career? As much as she fantasized about a rich man coming into her life and whisking her away from it all, she knew that wouldn't really make her happy.

If he was truly 1,000-years-old then surely he has some antiquated ideas about how a woman should live her life. 'I'm totally screwed,' she thought.

EPOV

'I'm totally screwed!' I thought. 'She has kids!' I had not been around kids, really around kids, in a thousand years.

Then I heard it. The sound of Maria singing to her son. This struck something deep inside me. I remembered a time, long, long ago.

My mother, from my life as a human, singing to me and my siblings as we tried to go to sleep. She was so gentle and loving with us.

I saw her, my mother from long ago, sitting with us and singing while I tried to sleep. As I imagined this scene I realized that something within me shifted. I may not like kids, per say, but I'll do whatever I can do to make this work.

'Maybe I can do this after all.' I thought to myself. 'It was not that long ago that I was a human. Okay, maybe it was. I was not able to have children of my own, but still I am sure I would be a capable husband and father.' I told myself.

Besides, fate was working against me and my repulsion for all things human. I knew that she was my fated and whatever she brought into my life would be meant to be.

'By gods, I hope she is not as stubborn as Sookie!' I thought. 'What will I do if she is willful and full of the modern woman's desire to provide for herself?' I wondered.

With that Maria entered the living room again. She was flustered, but beautiful.

"So…you have children?" I asked.

"Yes, I have two kids. Adam's 7 and Kerri's 3. They are a handful!" she said nervously. I could tell that she wondered what I thought about this recent development.

"How nice for you. There's nothing like miniature humans to make life more interesting." I said.

"Miniature humans. Well, that's one way to put it." Maria said with a look of chagrin on her face.

"I mean no offence. It's just been a while since I've been exposed to them. I apologize." I said.

"No worries, I was actually feeling bad that they hadn't come up before now." She said shyly.

"Tell me about them." I said, in an attempt to regain the ground I'd made with the presents today.

"Well, Adam's smart. Scary smart, really. He's got an IQ of 144, which is impressive. I worry about him because some people with high IQs end up really screwed up. Then there's Kerri. She's such a sweet girl, but I worry about her too. She's so open and loving; I know that one day she'll be disappointed with this world." Maria said.

I saw a sadness there that broke my heart. I wanted to ease her fears, but I had a feeling that it was just a mother's plight. Nothing I could say would make her feel better.

"It must be hard to be a single mother." I said, trying out my best, empathetic voice.

"It's not too bad. I'm lucky that I have children who are easy to deal with." She said. "What about you? Do you ever get lonely?"

"Yes, little one, I do get lonely. Though I would deny it if anyone else were to ask me. So you'd best not repeat that. But for some reason I trust you." I said, surprised at my own honesty.

"Yeah, it might have something to do with the shining light emanating from me at the club. I researched this whole 'lifemates' thing. It seems that there may be some validity to this. Did you really see a light when you saw me?" she asked.

"Yes, I did. It was quite obvious to me that you were something special. The ancients have told of lifemates before and it is a very rare and special relationship." I replied.

"Too bad your special person is older, wrinkly, and has kids. You must have wracked up some majorly bad karma to end up with me." She said.

This was the first time I got angry with Maria. "Don't ever say anything that negative about yourself again, because I will not abide by it!" I replied angrily.

"Oh…mister big pants, thinks he can boss me around, huh?" she replied. "I can assure you that while I may be down on myself, I will not tolerate such talk in my home. If you cannot respect me and speak to me in a respectful tone than I ask that you leave at once!" she hollered.

I could not stifle the laugh that was erupting. "Mr. big pants, really?" Gods, she was a card! "Okay, okay…I surrender. I've been around enough modern women to know when I've fucked up."

She visibly relaxed. And then the most beautiful thing happened. She started laughing too.

"Sorry, I'm a bit stressed and I was really worried about what you would think about me having kids. I didn't really realize until just now that this bit of information hadn't been shared between us. They are such a huge part of my life I guess I didn't even think about the fact that you wouldn't know about them." She said, suddenly becoming serious.

"While I admit I do not have a lot of experience with young children, I assure you that I will do whatever it takes to make this work." I said. I meant it too, I may not like the snot-nosed little devils, but I'd sure as hell make it work for a lifemate.

With those words, she approached me. She was so close I could smell her. She smelled as if she had been bonded to me. She had my blood in her veins somehow and it made her so much more attractive to me.

She looked up at me with her wide, hazel eyes and I was overcome with the desire to kiss her.

We had not had such an intimate moment yet. I was taking my time, but now I knew that I could wait no longer to taste her sweet lips.

I leaned in and kissed her. The strong feeling of electricity passed between us and I wondered if we would not combust with the intensity.

Our tongues danced together and in that moment I knew without a doubt that she was my soul mate. I had never experienced such an intense moment in all my years on this earth.

MPOV

When he kissed her she thought her head would leave her body at any moment. It was truly the best kiss she'd ever experienced. He'd either had a lot of experience, or this was something special…or perhaps it was both.

She thought about how much she wanted to continue this romantic interlude, but then she thought of the mountain of work that was awaiting her. Chapter after chapter, it was chastising and daunting to her.

She moaned, but it wasn't for pleasure. She knew she had to somehow get to work and she wondered what Eric would think of that.

"What's wrong, little one?" he asked, as if he could read her mind.

"I have a pile of homework to do and if I don't get started tonight I'll be screwed for the rest of the week. There's nothing worse than showing up for class unprepared. I could get away with it as an undergrad, but in graduate school they'd rake me over the coals if I didn't have my shit together." She replied.

He suddenly had a stony look to him. "So, this work you do for school, it's important to you?"

"It's been the most important thing in my life, besides my kids. I started out going to school to make a better life for myself and my kids, but now it's become more than that. I love school, as much as I complain about it." She replied, hoping beyond hope that he would understand.

He made the oddest growling sound, deep within his chest. 'Uh oh,' she thought, 'this isn't going to be pretty.'

"Are you telling me that you want me to leave?" he asked.

She thought about that. No…she didn't want him to leave, yet she knew she had to work. Suddenly she had an idea.

"No, actually I don't want you to leave. But I don't want to bore you, having you watch me read articles. Could you maybe stay and watch TV or read something from my collection?" she asked hopefully.

"Okay. I'll stay and read something." He sighed. "I have to tell you that I would not normally do this, but I feel so drawn to you that the pain of separation is far worse than the pain of a boring evening."

"Gee…thanks, that's great!" she replied sarcastically. "Look around and see if there's anything you'd like to read. I'm going to go get the articles I printed off for this week." And with that she whisked herself into the back of the house to obtain said articles.

Something told her that he stayed, not because it was the right thing to do, but because he wanted to get laid.

When she returned, she found Eric perusing her bookshelf and she instantly blushed. She didn't realize the shear volume of vampire romance novels in her collection. As if he could smell her embarrassment, he turned and gave her a wicked smile.

With his eyebrow so expertly raised, he held up a book with a picture of a muscled man embracing a half-naked woman. "Really?" he asked.

"Okay buddy, enough with the teasing. Yes, so I happen to read vampire novels to relieve the stress of my day. Sue me." She said completely embarrassed. This did nothing to improve her situation. She knew he wanted to get laid, and now he knew that she did too. Not a good combination.

"Oh, I'll do more than sue you, dear one. I'm going to ravish you and leave you breathless. But that's for another night." He said, chuckling.

She felt the blood rush to her face at that statement. Yup, he wants to get laid. In an instant Eric was in front of her, touching her cheeks.

"Mmmm…you smell so good, especially when you are blushing." He said.

She was speechless, which was just fine because he soon captured her lips with his. He tasted so good and she was so hungry for him it was all she could do to keep from taking him right there in the living room.

He released her lips and moved slowly down her neck, kissing her along the way.

"Oh, Eric," she responded. "You feel so good."

He growled in response and she suddenly became aware of her situation. Kids in bed just a few feet away, check. Piles of homework to do, check. Fuck!

"Eric, Eric…we have to stop now or I'm totally screwed." Maria said.

"Oh dear one, you will be totally screwed, like you've never been screwed before" was his response.

"Ugh," was all she could muster. 'No, Maria, no. You can't let this horny vampire mess with your carefully controlled life' she admonished herself.

As if he sensed her resolve, he backed away. She whimpered in response, but knew it was for the best.

"Hmmm, should I find out how Mr. Muscle Man wins the girl or read about the history of psychology?" he asked.

"I think I've been humiliated enough tonight. Why don't you learn a bit about the history of psychology? At least what you haven't already picked up in your long years on this earth." She replied.

As she settled down to read the homework assigned for this week. It was the most horrific bit of information she'd read so far in psychology – 'God, why didn't I know about the children of Chowchilla before this?' she asked herself. She also wondered what on earth was keeping this large, very powerful vampire in her home.

She took a peek, and saw him reading with a furrowed brow. She smiled to herself and decided it didn't matter at the moment the reason why. She was just going to enjoy it.

As she read her article, she became immersed in it. The detailed descriptions from the victims of this horrible crime and the psychological consequences had taken her to another place.

She grunted and moaned at the detailed accounts. 'No wonder they say not to do these readings before bed. I'm going to have nightmares for a week!' she thought.

When she couldn't contain her horror and emitted sounds of displeasure, she noticed that Eric would stiffen.

After finishing that particular article she felt she owed him some sort of explanation. "Well, time to move onto something less horrific. Hmm…posttraumatic stress disorder in Cambodian refugees. That sounds loads better."

He looked at her and she could tell he didn't quite understand her joke. He shrugged his shoulders and went back to the work of Freud.

'Well, seems there's a major disconnect between what I find horrific and what Eric finds horrific.' She mused to herself.

But it got her thinking. What kinds of things had he lived through if he had survived for 1,000 years? Surely he has been the cause of horror among many people in his life.

That thought hit her like a ton of bricks. She suddenly felt all the blood rush from her extremities to the middle of her stomach.

'What harm has he caused in the wake of living his daily life? Had he drunk from only the willing, had he used torture as a way to gain power in his life? He'd lived a long life, in a time when Amnesty International wasn't giving countries hell for their atrocities. Not only that, but he'd lived as a vampire for a long time before the age of synthetic blood.' She realized.

Could she really be with someone who'd caused psychological harm to people? She, who was trying so hard to help those in such a state?

She continued to read about rates of PTSD in survivors of the Pol Pot regime but that thought consumed her and she found she could not concentrate.

'How could this ever work?' she wondered.

**Well, I hope that lived up to your expectations. Hmmm…wonder if Eric will ever meet face-to-face with the kiddos? Mwah-ha-ha! You'll have to stay tuned to find out!**


	7. Chapter 7

True Lifemates Chapter 7

**a/n – Sorry it's taken so long to update. It's been crazy around here. I appreciate all the reviews and pm's about this story. You guys rock!!!!**

Maria's POV

_Okay, so he's lived a long life, during times when women were seen as property. Surely this story will not be pleasant. But if we're to be soul mates, or lifemates – whatever – surely there is a way around this. Either that or the fates have played a cruel joke on me._

"So, um Eric, you've lived a long time. Seen some very awful things in your days on Earth."

He stiffened and Maria sensed he wasn't surprised nor excited about where this conversation was going.

"Yes, I was a Viking and since my human days have seen and done many things that would probably be seen as appalling to you."

"You're a Viking!" Maria was shocked. She didn't know much about ancient Norse history, but from what she knew it wasn't pretty. _Weren't they famous for raping and pillaging? Fuck!_

"Yes, I was a Viking in my days as a human." He replied proudly.

_Shit, this is worse than I thought. I honestly cannot see how I could possibly ever be with a perpetrator. No fucking way!_

"Wasn't it common in those days for the men to rape women as a form of psychological warfare?", she asked while clinching her entire body.

He looked serious then, as he leaned forward he said, "I've never had to force a woman to have sex with me, if that is what you are hoping to learn. There was never a need, and it is much more appealing if the woman succumbs of her own free will. For me, anyway."

_Ah…thank god. I could get over killing for war or for sustenance, but raping – that's a line I just cannot cross. In fact, if I were a vampire, I'd be damn tempted to go after any and all perpetrators of sexual assault. Probably a good thing I'm not, I guess._

"So, just to clarify, while it may have been and still is, a common form of damage during war, that you have never raped anyone?", she asked.

"Little one, soon you will learn that while I may protect from news you may not be ready for, I will never lie to you."

"You'll protect me from news I'm not ready for? What the fuck does that mean? You'll keep important information away from me based on your own assessment of my ability to handle it? That's going to be a problem, buddy!"

"Buddy?", he smirked, "I am certainly not your buddy. I am your lifemate, your chosen one. As much as we might fight with each other, we are eternally bound. Any problems we have must and WILL be resolved."

Maria didn't like his tone at all. "Yeah? Well it's good that you want to resolve our problems but you don't have to have an asshat tone of voice when you say it." She yelled at him.

"Asshat? What is an asshat my lifemate?" he said with a chuckle.

"It means your head is up your ass when you speak to me in that tone, MY lifemate!" She was hoping that this would clue him in that if she was his and they were eternally bound then he was as much hers as well.

Eric stiffened and took on a steely look, piercing daggers at Maria with his eyes. But as soon as that emotion flickered across his face it was gone just as fast, replaced with a look of amusement and a roar of laughter.

"Ahh…you are feisty!"

"Oh Eric, I'm so glad that my revulsion at patriarchal attitudes amuses you so." She rolled her eyes as she said this. She did not like this, not one bit. She also did not like how their banter back and forth was making her feel warm inside and made her want to jump across the room and have her naughty way with him. Didn't like it AT ALL!


End file.
